The 6 Dopest Dog Superheroes

There are a ton of cat-themed comic book characters out there, but there are surprisingly few dog-themed do-gooders. What’s up with that? I mean, obviously cats are just better than dogs. That’s an intrinsic fact. But you’d think dogs would be a more popular sort of hero.

There are plenty of dog sidekicks though!

Don’t worry, comic book fans, I’ve got you covered! I’ve already written about cat superheroes, as well as both superhero cats and superhero dogs, so now it’s time to complete the loop and bring you the coolest, dopest dog-themed characters in comics! They do exist, and some of them are pretty neat!

Join me after the jump for all the dog superheroes I could find!

6. The Dog Pound

I bet they both have different origins for how they became dog-people

How about three for the price of one? The Dog Pound is the name of a team of dog-themed villains who harassed the third Blue Beetle, Jaime Reyes, early in his superhero career. They are Anubis, Devil Dog and Junkyard Dog, three feisty but ultimately harmless bad guys. Anubis and Devil Dog first teamed up while fighting each other for the right to call themselves the new Hellhound, but Blue Beetle showed up and suggested they should pick their own super-villain names and be original. They later re-emerged as the Global Ultra-Society of Dread with a new ally, Junkyard Dog, but all three got walloped by Wildcat and the Justice Society of America for their troubles.

Speaking of Hellhound…

5. Hellhound

Bright red and purple are definitely dog colors

What’s the point of having Catwoman if she can’t have a dog-themed adversary? Hellhound is a former rival who dedicated himself to defeating Selina Kyle. As a young thief and martial arts disciple, Kai came into contact with Selina during a religious ritual, which ended with Kai’s sensei taking Selina on as a student. His anger only grew when Selina turned out to be better than him at everything, and when she became Catwoman, Kai decided to go the dog route. He even started training attack dogs to aid to his gimmick. At least until he died and a bunch of also-ran dog idiots started fighting for his name.

4. Stray

He absolutely has a color-coded dog sidekick!

As an independent, Kickstarter-funded comic book writer myself, I would be remiss if I didn’t give a shout out to a comic like Stray from Action Lab. This guy looks like the perfect ideal of a dog superhero. I’m surprised his name isn’t Dogman! Instead, Stray is Rodney Weller, who used to be the kid sidekick Rottweiler, because puns are amazing. When his mentor, the Doberman, is murdered, little Rotty decides to relaunch his superhero career to track down the killer. Hopefully he has a nose like a bloodhound!

3. Dog Brother #1

The dark, brooding type

There is one big reason why I am excited for the upcoming Iron Fist Netflix show: Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction’s run on Immortal Iron Fist from 2007. If you haven’t read the comic, you’re missing out on one of the greatest modern day reinventions in superhero history. Iron Fist went from a random martial arts superhero to a character with incredible depth and new mythology. In their story, we found out that Danny Rand is simply the latest in a long line of Iron Fists, and that his mystical city of K’un-Lun was one of seven Kingdoms of Heaven, each with their own martial arts champion. And those champions? They all got together to have an amazing fighting tournament! If the Iron Fist Netflix show touches on any of this stuff, it’s going to be something incredibly fun to watch.

Dog Brother #1 is the mystical champion of the Under-City, a refuge for the strays and orphans of the world. One must be truly lost to find themselves in the presence of Dog Brother #1, a title that is passed down from one stray to the next. Dog Brother #1 wields a powerful sword and armor, but he’s no match for the likes of Iron Fist, so he’s mostly just a supporting character. But he’s still a badass martial arts warrior supporting character!

2. Hyperdog

Not quite a robo-dog

Sgt. Kemlo Caesar is a super-intelligent talking doberman wearing a humanoid mech suit. He’s also the sergeant in a police station in a world where everybody has super-powers. So yeah, he’s pretty awesome. Hyperdog is a character in Alan Moore’s Top 10 series, and he’s a pretty cool guy. Nice, funny, courageous, he even goes on to fall in love with a human woman and adopt a child together. That’s pretty swell. This police dog (pun intended) eventually goes on to become head of Precinct 10, so he’s definitely a good boy!

1. Wild Dog

Doesn’t live by Batman’s code

This is Wild Dog’s time to shine! This Z-list nobody is now appearing in live action on Arrow, like he’s some kind of superstar! And why shouldn’t he? Just look at that logo on his shirt! Now that is good superheroic branding. Wild Dog is Jack Wheeler, a former military man who decided to turn gun-wielding vigilante after the mafia killed his girlfriend. He’s kind of like the Punisher, but with a funnier logo and costume. That was pretty much the extent of his crime-fighting ways, with a few scattered appearances throughout the years. But hopefully this new TV deal can lead to big things for Wild Dog. Somebody’s gotta represent the pooches out there!

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Dogs may be man’s best friend, but for some reason, man doesn’t seem up to making many dog-themed superheroes.

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About Sean Ian Mills

Hello, this is Sean, the Henchman-4-Hire! By day I am a mild-mannered newspaper reporter in Central New York, and by the rest of the day I'm a pretty big geek when it comes to video games, comic books, movies, cartoons and more.